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Workforce compliance in the gig economy

Today, companies of all types and sizes are using contingent workers at a greater scale than ever before. Beyond the traditional “outside contractor” who might perform a discrete time-boxed task, the contingent workforce, as often as not, now operate within an organization just as if it is part of the employee base. Professional services might be supplied under a statement-of-work agreement, a freelancer with unique skills might be retained through an online labor marketplace, or traditional temporary workers might be hired through a staffing agency. Entire departments or projects might be run by contingent workers.

References to the “gig economy” abound, with articles about how this task-based approach to work enables greater flexibility for both the workers and the company engaging them. Economists note the globalization of the contingent workforce and predict an even more rapid pace of growth in this sector.